Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Riyadh enjoyed its strongest ever Saudi representation.
With an 18-under-par total, England’s Charley Hull clinched her sixth win as a professional, and her fourth on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in what was the concluding leg of this season’s five US$1 million Aramco Team Series presented by PIF tournaments on the LET, all organised by Golf Saudi.
Equally pleasing to the organisers was the burgeoning Saudi presence at the tournament.
“What an incredible week of golf we’ve enjoyed here in Riyadh. This week we have had a greater on-course Saudi impact than ever before at a Golf Saudi event,” said Noah Alireza, CEO at Golf Saudi.
He added: “We are immensely proud of Riyadh Golf Course and our new-look clubhouse being designed, built and maintained by Saudis. So, to have a record 10 Saudi golfers compete as amateurs in the Aramco Team Series – Riyadh is a huge achievement for us and for golf in Saudi Arabia.
“We also welcomed fantastic crowds over the last few days, and celebrated the 58 new Saudi golfers to have completed our revamped, world-first Go Golf free-to-learn coaching initiative.
“With a further 1,800 new golfers registered for Go Golf, we can feel the impact events like these, as well as everything else we’re doing in golf here, are having. All of these are landmark moments as we continue to grow golf in Saudi Arabia.
“I’d like to thank all the players and partners who helped make this an unforgettable week of golf and we look forward to the return of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF next year.”
At her pre-tournament press conference, Hull said she felt confident about breaking a two-year winless drought.
And she was proved right as she soared to the top of the leaderboard ahead of overnight leader Pia Babnik from Slovenia following a front nine of five-under-par. Hull went on to win by three strokes from Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup with Babnik slipping to third.
Reflecting on her performance, Hull said: “I felt really sharp. I played very solidly. I felt like I held my game together pretty well – 18-under for three days is a pretty good score.”